AnHM Revenue & Customs(HMRC) worker
has lost a laptop containing details of hundreds of investors,
sparking the latest UK identity theft scare.
The
BBC
reports the laptop was stolen from the boot of an HMRC car last
month.
The HMRC staff member had been using the laptop to audit tax
information from several investment firms.
Police are now investigating the theft. HMRC says the data was
protected using "a complex password and top level encryption",
reports the BBC.
But the theft also included a print-out of some names and
financial details, which would be helpful to identity thieves.
The HMRC theft follows
similar thefts at Nationwide Building Society, Marks &
Spencer, and several health bodies.
The Nationwide was fined £1m by the Financial Services Authority
after its laptop theft.